News

December

What Can the Midterms Tell Us About 2020?At a recent IPR panel, Northwestern scholars discussed what the record-breaking midterms might mean for Congress, the media, and the economy over next two years and for the 2020 presidential election.

How Contempt Divides AmericaAmerican Enterprise Institute president Arthur Brooks delivered a distinguished public policy lecture to the Northwestern community about how contempt divides America and what we can do about it.

Gender Parity: The Long GameIPR education sociologist Simone Ispa-Landa wrote an op-ed for Garnet News where shes ays key cultural shifts are still needed to change how girls are viewed, requiring parents and educators to play the "long gender game."

October

50 Years of Research Excellence and Policy ImpactIn fall 1968, a small group of Northwestern scholars launched the Center for Urban Affairs—now the Institute for Policy Research—to bring faculty researchers together from across different disciplines to shed light on urban poverty and social ills. Across the year, IPR will celebrate its 50th anniversary, culminating with a two-day conference in the spring.

September

The Great Recession: 10 Years LaterThough the U.S. economy steams ahead, many Americans continue to experience aftershocks of the worst U.S. economic crisis since the Great Depression, according to research by IPR faculty.

Let Them Eat ClayIPR anthropologist Sera Young recently presented on pica, or the craving and intentional consumption of earth, starch, chalk, and other non-food items. She examined why people eat earth at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS) in Amsterdam in June.

SURA 2018 Student BlogEach summer since 1998, IPR has run the Summer Undergraduate Research Assistants (SURA) program, which gives undergraduate students first-hand experience in the conceptualization and conduct of policy-relevant social science research. SURA students are sharing their research experience from their own perspective, and we will feature one student discussing the research project s/he is part of each week as part of an ongoing blog.

July

The Impact of Going GlobalFrom the impact of millions of refugees on host countries to the effects of rising global trade on domestic workers, the 2018 Northwestern University Workshop on Globalization focused on the effects, both positive and negative, of the growing connections between people, countries, and economies. The Buffett Institute for Global Studies and Institute for Policy Research welcomed more than 40 interdisciplinary scholars to Northwestern's Evanston campus for the workshop.

Faculty Spotlight: Andrew PapachristosGrowing up at the height of Chicago's homicide epidemic, IPR sociologist Andrew Papachristos witnessed gang violence, crime, and policing first-hand in the Greek diner his parents owned in Rogers Park. After graduating college, he had an offer to become a police officer, but instead went to graduate school to study sociology and criminology. He now studies how network science can be applied to understand the spread of crime and violence.

Spreading the (Partisan) WordOnly 10–15 percent of the American public watches partisan news outlets like MSNBC and Fox News. But according to research by IPR political scientist James Druckman, their polarizing impact reaches beyond the viewers of their broadcasts. He finds if someone who watched a partisan outlet discusses the media's slant on issues with friends or colleagues, that can influence people who do not even consume partisan media.

Locked Out of Homeownership Tracing how government policies have opened the door to a home for many Americans, IPR political scientist Chloe Thurstonalso shows how the same programs often serve to lock women and minorities out of home ownership in her new book, At the Boundaries of Homeownership: Credit, Discrimination, and the American State(Cambridge University Press, 2018).

IPR Faculty Receive Cascade of HonorsFrom fellowships and research grants to presidential and leadership awards, IPR faculty have received multiple awards and honors since spring, recognizing excellence in their respective fields.

SURA 2018 Student BlogEach summer since 1998, IPR has run the Summer Undergraduate Research Assistants (SURA) program, which gives undergraduate students first-hand experience in the conceptualization and conduct of policy-relevant social science research. SURA students are sharing their research experience from their own perspective, and we will feature one student discussing the research project s/he is part of each week as part of an ongoing blog.

May

The Future of WorkWith the rise of artificial intelligence, machine learning, robots, and other technologies, how will workplaces and workers adapt? Former IPR director Fay Lomax Cook returned to discuss the National Science Foundation's "Big Ideas" to spark innovation in science and engineering research.

Faculty Spotlight: Ofer MalamudA global outlook on decision making comes naturally to IPR economist Ofer Malamud. Born in Israel, his family moved to Japan when he was 6 years old, and then three years later to Hong Kong, where he attended a British secondary school.

From Online Town Halls to One-on-One DiscussionsScholars and graduate students from the Midwest and beyond gathered for the 12th annual Chicago Area Political and Social Behavior Workshop. It featured presentations on representative democracy, identity, immigration, and youth engagement by four prominent and rising political scientists.

April

Decision Making in a 'Broken Political System'As an economic advisor to President Bill Clinton and a secretary of the U.S. Treasury in the 1990s, Robert Rubin faced many tough decisions, from the economic maelstrom of the Mexican peso crisis to passing government budgets and debating tax cuts—many of which bear striking parallels to current headlines.

Faculty Spotlight: Sera YoungWhether attending an international high school in Wales or learning Swahili while living with a Zanzibari family, IPR anthropologist Sera Young has found immersing herself in different cultures is the way to think differently. She now focuses on maternal and child health issues, closely examining the causes and consequences of food and water insecurity.

The Legacy of HardshipCan poverty affect health across generations? In Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, IPR health psychologist Greg Miller and his colleagues find that a mother’s economic hardship during childhood can lead to negative birth outcomes for her children.

Simone Ispa-Landa Named William T. Grant ScholarIPR education sociologist Simone Ispa-Landa has been named a 2018 William T. Grant Scholar, one of six early career researchers to receive the honor this year. She will investigate how different disciplinary approaches in schools shape the experiences of students of different races.

Racial Bias in MedicineA new study published in Social Science & Medicinefinds that American clinicians rated white patients as significantly more likely to improve and more likely to adhere to recommended treatments than black patients, and to be more personally responsible for their health than black patients.

Building the Prison StateThe United States has the highest incarceration rate of any industrialized nation, with about 1 in 100 American adults currently behind bars, the majority of whom are racial minorities. How did we get here, and what can we do about it? In her new book, Building the Prison State: Race and the Politics of Mass Incarceration (University of Chicago Press, 2018), IPR sociologist and legal scholar Heather Schoenfeld addresses this question.

Overcoming Barriers to Safety Net Sign-UpsWhy do people fail to sign up for social safety net programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), despite being eligible? IPR economist Matthew Notowidigdo and his MIT colleague Amy Finkelstein are seeking to understand this issue by examining how to improve outreach methods to low-income households not participating in social safety net programs.

March

Crime in Chicago: What Does the Research Tell Us?Chicago has a national reputation for violence. Even though shooting deaths dropped in the city last year, 664 people still died from gun violence. At a recent policy research briefing, IPR experts presented their findings on the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to Chicago's enduring violence problem.

Putting a “Premium on Civil Discourse” For Strobe Talbott, a former journalist and State Department official who led one of the U.S.’ premier think tanks until last year, the lack of trust in expertise is “challenge number one, two, and three” for academics hoping their work can influence policymakers. Talbott joined IPR and the Buffett Institute for a special lecture about academia's role in policymaking.

Two Cheers for the Truth?According to IPR political scientist John Bullock, insincere answers are part of the wedge driving political partisans further apart. People may know that what they are saying is false, but if the claim seems to support their political party—or criticize the other party—they may say it anyway.

A Climate of ChangeA global response to climate change is needed, according to law professor and IPR associate David Dana. Part of his research addresses how framing climate change in different ways affects perceptions of the problem, support for regulatory initiatives, and policy choices made by legislators and regulators.

How Turf Wars Lead to Violence in ChicagoChicago’s Little Village ranks among the top 10 most violent neighborhoods in the city, with much of the violence concentrated on the neighborhood’s east side. As sociologist and former IPR graduate research assistant Robert Vargas (PhD WCAS 12) explains, these violent hot spots are due to a lack of resources and territorial disputes.

February

Examining Discrimination to Understand its ImpactsThe #metoo, Black Lives Matter, and LGBTQIA movements have raised awareness about the stubborn persistence of various kinds of discrimination that people from all walks of life, racial and ethnic backgrounds, genders, and sexual orientations face every day. IPR researchers are providing multidisciplinary insights to help address these issues.

Faculty Spotlight: Cynthia KinnanAs a college student gathering background materials for her debate team on development assistance in Africa, IPR economist Cynthia Kinnan found fraught claims about what did and did not work. That realization led her to the study of development economics, and ever since, she has sought to bring scientific tools to the conversation around poverty in the developing world.

Infants Can Learn Abstract RulesThree-month-old babies cannot sit up or roll over, yet they are already capable of learning patterns from simply looking at the world around them, according to a recent study from IPR developmental psychologist Sandra Waxman and her colleagues.

January

IPR's Top Articles Reflect Policy Debates2017 saw a new administration settle into office, with policy debates spilling over from Capitol Hill and the White House into state legislatures, courts, town halls, and the streets. Many of IPR’s top-read articles from 2017 reflect such wider policy concerns—from research on boycotts to partisan polarization to the benefits of safety-net programs.

Faculty Spotlight: Mary PattilloChicago is IPR associate Mary Pattillo’s home and also her research subject. A sociologist and African American studies researcher, Pattillo has delved into "race in the city" in Chicago and beyond throughout her career.

Infographic: Racial Diversity Among Coaches Drives Diversity of BeliefsSince NFL player Colin Kaepernick first kneeled during the national anthem during the 2016 season, political protests have become a major topic of discussion in sports. A newstudyby Northwestern University researchers examines beliefs about athlete protests within one institution, the NCAA, finding that coaches’ race can affect their views.

In Memoriam: Cynthia (CC) DuBois, 1985–2018Cynthia (CC) DuBois (SESP PhD ’17), an emerging, award-winning scholar and former IPR graduate research assistant, died as a result of brain cancer on Jan. 2 in Chicago. She was 32.

Food or Water?While in Kenya studying food insecurity during the first 1,000 days of life, IPR anthropologist Sera Young stumbled upon an equally severe problem facing new mothers and their children: access to water. Young is now working to create a cross-culturally validated household-level water insecurity scale.

Promoting Unhealthy Foods to Kids OnlineFood companies are marketing less to children online—which advocates consider a win in the fight against the epidemic of childhood obesity. Some of these same companies, however, have increased their online advertising budgets targeting at children by 50 percent—and are embedding “advergames” on their websites. These online games commonly feature advertisements promoting unhealthy foods, according to a study by communication studies researcher and IPR associate Ellen Wartella.